


All kinds of pain

by kotosk (Kotosk)



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Ed gets back to them later tho, M/M, No beta we die like trisha, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29598519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kotosk/pseuds/kotosk
Summary: “Hello, Alphonse,” he starts. “My name is Roy, I was your brother’s mate.”He stumbles on ‘was’.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Comments: 6
Kudos: 98





	All kinds of pain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrybunn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrybunn/gifts).



> Rie was like why don't we make Shamballa even more depressing by adding abo to it and i was like shit fam im in
> 
> A snippet of an au where ed and roy were mated before 03 finale happened and roy copes with grief by hyperfixating on al as their cub

Ed’s heat scent still lingers on the edge of his senses when their bond stretches and almost snaps into non-existence. The pain is so acute and sharp that Archer’s bullet feels like benevolence, putting Roy out of his misery.

The next time he wakes up he gingerly touches the wad of bandages around his head, and the missing eye doesn’t hurt as much as the gaping hole in his chest where Ed’s warm presence used to be. Riza sits next to his bed, solemn and quiet, and Roy doesn’t have to say anything because even a beta could sense the smell of grief clouding the room. Roy can hardly breathe in it. 

“Fulmetall?” he forces himself to ask.

Riza shakes her head, not looking up from the apple she’s holding in her hands. A knife slides through the apple’s skin with a crunch, and Roy briefly contemplates wrestling it out of her grip.

“They have found Alphonse,” Riza says, and her tone makes Roy tense. “Edward managed to return his body, but…”

“But what?”

“He looks about ten years old and he doesn’t remember what happened during his time in the armor.” The answer makes Roy blink; a surge of pain shots through his left lid and radiates up to his temple. 

Al losing his memories doesn’t seem like a terrible thing at first; Ed confessed to him once that he worried about the things his brother had to go through because of him. ‘He shouldn’t even know such things exist’ Ed said, his voice bitter. ‘Neither should you’ Roy said, and it led to another heated argument that ended up with them tangled up on the floor.

The memory aches. 

Then it hits him that Ed is _gone_ and now the only thing Al has of him is the memories of the people that knew them during these years. 

Roy is struggling to get his breathing under control when Riza speaks again.

“He is being kept in the next room down the corridor until Miss Rockbell can come to collect him.”

Roy stands up before he realizes he’s moving; the room swims before his eyes ( _eye_ ) and he has to grip the headboard to keep himself upright. Riza jerks to help him, but he’s already at the door by the time she gets up. 

He fights the nausea during his short trip to the neighbouring door; his head is pounding and his chest is full of lead where their bond should be.

The moment he sees Alphonse on the hospital bed all air leaves his lungs. The resemblance is uncanny - he looks exactly like Ed did when he was twelve, and suddenly Roy isn’t so sure he can handle it.

He takes a few steps closer to the boy, noticing their differences - his hair is a few shades too dark, his eyes have a green shade instead of Ed’s pure amber. Riza hoovers in the doorway, not wanting to intrude but not willing to leave him alone.

Aphonse looks at him, and Roy realizes that the boy doesn’t know who he is. He is filled with all kinds of pain, and there goes another one. He sits on the chair at the bedside. This close he can feel Alphonse’s scent; similar to Ed’s, but unmistakably different, still belonging to a cub instead of a fledged mate.

“Hello, Alphonse,” he starts. “My name is Roy, I was your brother’s mate.” 

He stumbles on ‘was’.

Alphonse stares at him, until his face fills with sorrow. 

“You smell like him,” he whispers. Roy closes his eyes ( _eye_ ). He does carry Ed’s scent with him, would be carrying it for a few more years if he is lucky before it disappears completely. He tries not to think about it. 

“I miss him,” Alphonse continues, barely audible, and Roy isn’t surprised to get a lapful of a cub when the boy lunges at him. He holds him close, an instinctual purr rumbling in his chest to calm Alphonse down when he feels tears against his neck. Roy can’t stop himself from rubbing his unbandaged cheek on Alphonse’s hair, adding his scent to his, marking him as his cub. He’s holding the last physical evidence that his mate existed, and he knows that now he’s unable to let it go. The pit in his chest hurts a bit less when he’s pressing Alphonse to it, so Roy clutches harder, running one hand up and down the boy’s back as it shakes with sobs. 

Purring helps, and soon Alphonse is limp in his arms, tucked close to him and safe. His answering purr resonates against Roy, and Roy can breathe a tiny bit easier. With Ed’s scent still lingering in them and their own mingling it smells like their pack should, and Roy closes his eye and pretends for a moment that everything is fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: i joined a russian one string fest specifically to fill angsty prompts and make them even worse than they were (:


End file.
